Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 6
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
अव्यक्तं कारणं यत्तन्नित्यं सदसदात्मकम् / प्रधानं प्रकृतिश्चेति यदाहुस्तत्त्वचिन्तकाः
avyaktaṃ kāraṇaṃ yattannityaṃ sadasadātmakam / pradhānaṃ prakṛtiśceti yadāhustattvacintakāḥ
Nguyên lý vô hiển ấy, được nói là nền nhân duyên—thường hằng, mang bản tính vừa hữu vừa vô—được các bậc quán sát chân lý gọi là Pradhāna, hay Prakṛti.
Narrator/Sage (Purāṇic discourse framing the cosmological teaching)
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It distinguishes the unmanifest causal ground (Pradhāna/Prakṛti) from the ultimate Self: the verse defines Nature as the eternal causal substrate with sat–asat characteristics, implying that Atman/Iśvara is the knower and transcendent principle, not merely the material cause.
No specific technique is prescribed in this verse; it supplies the metaphysical basis used in Kurma Purana’s yoga-teachings—discriminative insight (viveka) between the unmanifest Prakṛti (cause) and the conscious principle sought through dhyāna and inner discernment.
Indirectly: by grounding creation in a shared Sāṅkhya vocabulary (Pradhāna/Prakṛti), the text supports the Purāṇic non-sectarian synthesis where the same supreme reality is approached through Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frames, while Prakṛti remains the common material principle.